h Pacific Reef Egret at Kota Kinabalu by SINGH HSS, Amar - Borneo Bird Images

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ARDEIDAE Herons, Egrets, Bitterns > Pacific Reef Egret

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image 8104 of Pacific Reef Egret

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Pacific Reef Egret

Latin Name : Egretta sacra

Site Name : Kota Kinabalu

Photographer : SINGH HSS, Amar

Date : 2017-03-27

Notes : Legs are described as variable, mainly yellow to greenish with bright yellow soles [Martínez-Vilalta, A., Motis, A. & Kirwan, G.M. (2017). Pacific Reef-egret (Egretta sacra). Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona]. But the majority I saw in breeding plumage had bright orange soles (Post 2). You can spot this even when resting (see post 3) if looking carefully as it is the under-surface/soles. I suspect it is often missed. Wells states that “Howes 1896 report a dark bird with orange-yellow feet, a possible breeding colour” [Wells, D.R. (1999) The birds of the Thai-Malay Peninsula: Vol. 1, Christopher Helm, London]. I would appreciate opinions/confirmation from others who have spent more, all year round, time with these birds. - Amar -